Relay



Oct. 13, 1925- 7 1,556,599

H. H. HARBECKE RELAY Filed Aug. 16, 1923 Im.rsn ur' Hsrman H. Harbscka Patented Oct. 13, 1925. w

ii -UNIT D sm s .nemm HI Brianne Kn, oroH cAeo, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR'TO acronyms ELECTRIC oomrimmor CHICAGO, ngmnors, A conrona'rron or rumors.

r throughout the several views.

The dashpot relayf illustrated. comprises essentially anoperating magnet, a solenoid .inlthiscase, a set of contact springs adapted Ito, beoperated by the solenoid plunger'rod, Tandf'a dashpot for delaying or slowing up ,a predetermined time intervah H nanny.

' Application filed August 16,.1923 Se'ria1 No; 657,660.

To all whom it may concern: 1 v

. Be itknown thatI HE MAN H. Han- BEOKJS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, Cook County, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and; useful Improvements in elays, of which the following is a specification." A 1 J p This invention relates in general to dashpot relays and its object, broadly stated, is

to provide a new-and improve-d .dash'pot for a relayof this type.) More' specifically, the

fobject of'the invention is to provide a dash- ,pot in which the piston rodis directly connected to the ball valve, thusjinsu'ring a posiitive opening of the valve, and providing for jaslight blow against the piston'at each operation to prevent sticking. 1

To accomplish vthe foregoing and-,-other useful'iends thisinvention comprises means which "will bejfully describedgin the specilficationwh-ich is to follow, reference being bad, tothe accompanying drawing, in which Fig.1 isa. front view ofthe entire relay; .Fig. 2, a vertical section of a part of -the relay 'ontheline OG, Fig. '11, including a vertical; section of the pistonvjo'n the line BB,

'Fig; 3; Fig. 3, a top view of the piston, with its c ap, (the needle valve adjustmentscrew and it's'jtensi'on plate in vplace; and-Flg. 4, a vertical section of, the piston onthe line AA,

the operation of the plunger when it is at .ft'ra'ctedl] The release of the plunger, it may bestated, is'not delayed bythe dashpot and takes place very quickly therefore. Relays ofthis general type are well understood and ,need not be described in detail, except in so ,far'fasthe new ifeatureslare involved. It

may. be mentioned,:h0wever, thata dashpot relayis' used in acircuit where; delayed opemtiqn. or slow action isrequired, as for example Where it 1s deslred to operate an alarm or other slgnalafter the expiration Themountingbracket 9, as shown 1n Figs.

-. 1 and 2, is.- castr-metal,'finished and drilled for mounting heel piece 6, pawl or hell best shown in Fig. 4.

a reservoinll to hold the. s'lightiquantity of escaplng 011, and is threaded to hold the dashpot .5, as shown 'in"Fig.-.2. Between the mounting bracket 9 and dashpot 5 there is a gasket 10 for preventing a leaka e of oil.

The heel piece 6, show'nin d ig. 1, is a metalstrip bent and drilled for mounting the spring assembly 7,,tl'1e solenoid 2, and,

for permittingterminals 5 to be brought through insulating bushings at its upper end for making connections.

The dashpot 5, :Fgs; 1 and 2,:is a metal cylinder'dr'illed out toaccommodate the piston numbered 13, 14, 22, etc., and toihold the oil or other suitable liquid, through which theflatter operates. 1 V

3 ofthesolenoid'is con- The plunger ,rod nected with thepiston rod 12 by means of a link or connecting rod 4, the connections being made by rivets, or pins with flattened ends, or other. suitable means, asshown in Figs; 1 -and-2.; The connect-ing rod has a collar atlits lower-end. which controls the operation of the bell crank 8, Fig. 1. The bell crank in turn controls the operation of .Ei .3. V the springsinspringassembly/7., y.

i Similar numerals refer to,similar. parts I cylindrical member 13 having a shoulder .on the inside against which rests the hori- .The piston assembly consists" of a vertical zontal valve member 22, as shown in 'Figs.

2 andA. The horizontal valve member has two valve-openings 'll and 18, the former quite small while thelatter is much larger.

The-piston hasa cap 14, as shown inFigs.

2, 3zan d 4, fcontaining severaljholes 21 for 'the free, passage of. oilduring either movement ofthe piston. This cap and the horizontal valve-member are pulled uptight and-held inplace by the screws 25 and 26, 7 Screw 25 also holds the tension plate 15 WlllChFflCtS to holdthe needle valveadjustment screw 16in place, as shown in Figs. 2, 3' and 4.

The piston rod 12, shown in Fig. 2, has two shoulders, the upper one offwhich', in its unoperated or released position, rests against .the cap 14, and the lower one,against which th-e valve ball 19'is-heldby the nut 20. 1 The shoulders are spaced, or the size of the opening 18 varied, so as to give the desired flow ball upon coming in contact with the valve seat strikes it al'slight blow which acts to give the piston a start, thus preventing sticking. The needle valve opening 17 now entirely controlslthe' flow of oil'through the piston and makes it slow to pullup, its speed depending upon the size of the opening which is regulated by the adjustment screw 16. 'The desired'slow operation is completed when the contacts of the springs in the assembly are closed by the bell crank 8 through contact with the collar of the connecting rod 4 in its upward movement." The piston remains in'itspull'ed up or operated position as long as the solenoid 2 remains energized. f

lVhen' the solenoid 2 is deenergized, the so'lenoidplunger rod? is'released and falls down by gravity, thereby allowing the connecting ro'd'4, piston rod 12 and valve ball 19 to also fall. The connecting rod infalling releases the bell 'cran'k 8, which in turn allows the springs inassembly 7 to return to normal. "The 'valveball in falling clears the opening 18 for an active oil flow." The piston rod'in falling str'ikesthe pistoncap 14 a 'slight'blow with its shoulder, 'which acts thesam'e as the'iblowin the upward movement, of the piston. "The piston falls down by gravity, being assisted by the weight of the rods 3; 4,12 andtheir attachments, the opening 18- being large enough to offerv vbut very little resistanceto the downward movement of 'the'pistonthrough the oil, thus making it quickto restore. Adashpot'constructed in the manner described in the foregoinghas numerous iadvantages,among which may be pointedfout the following: In the'first'place, the provision by which the pistonfis g iven a' slight blow at the beginning of each upward and downward movement is" very effectual in preventing sticking, as mentioned before. The'blQW- at the beginning of the downward movement alsoinsures that the piston will be restored each time during a succession of short impulses which might otherwise cause the piston to gradually creep up' due to their accumulative effect. The scheme of mounting the ball directly on the piston rod insures apositive' opening of the valve and at the same time prevents the ballfrom rotating in its 'se'at' between successive operations.

The latter point is of value in securing a tight seat, since if the ball turned relative to the piston slight irregularities in its surface or'in the surface of the seat might at times cause a leak. Finally the ball is" held against the seat with much more force than in the constructions formerly used because the piston is supported and drawn upward against the oil by means of the piston acting through the ball. In other words, the ball lifts the piston, and since the 'piston comprises the greater part of. the area presented to the oil, the pressure. on the seat is greater than'it would be with a piston operated direct by the piston rod and'a' simple ball valve. I

Having described my invention, what I consider to be new and desire to have'protected by Letters Patent will bepointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed, is: V;

1. In a dashpot relay, the combination of a piston with a shouldered; piston rodbarnying a steel valve, ball, said. shoulder and ball beingspaced to operatelooselya limited distance independent of said piston, thus giving the latter a slight blow atthestart of each directive movement, substantially as described.

2. In a dashpot, a piston having a small aperture therein which is always opemsaid piston also having a relatively large aperture closed when'the piston is raised, a valve for closing saidylarge openingfandfa piston rod for raising the piston loosely attached thereto so astoprovid'e ,forat slight blow against the piston at; the beginning of the upward n1ov,ementand release in. order to prevent stlckmg.

In a dashpot, a cylinder, a piston in said'cylinder comprising atubular member, two plates held separated but clamped;to said piston-by screws, a shaft for operating said piston, a ball onthe end of said shaft co-operating with an aperturein one of said plates to form a ball valve, a second aperture in said last plate and an adjusting screw in the other plate co-operating with the last mentioned aperture to form a needle valve, and means for transmitting motion to the shaft for first closing thejballfvalve and for thereafter elevating-the piston at a speed regulated by the needle valve.

flpln a dashpot, a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder comprising a tubulahmember,

two plates held separated but clamped jto said piston'by screws, a shaft foroperating said piston, a ball on the 'end of saidshaft co-operating with an aperture in oneiof said plates to form a ball valve, a second japerture in said last plate and an; adjusting screw in the other plateQco-operatinggwith the last mentionedfape'rture to. form needle valve, means for transmitting motion to the shaft for first closing theball valve and tion, a shaft for moving the cylinder, said shaft carrying a valve closing element on one end thereof and having free movement through the cylinder for a certain distance, means for maintaining the valve open when the piston stands at normal, said shaft rising independent of the piston for a certain distance and then engaging the same to close the valve and move the piston.

6. In a dashpot, a fluid chamber, a piston movable therein, a shaft for moving. said 'piston, said shaft having a free movement through the piston, two shoulders on the shaft, one engaging the piston to move the same in only one direction, and the other engaging the piston to move the same only in another direction, said shaft disengaging one shoulder from the piston and engaging the other therewith each time the shaft moves the piston.

7. In a dashpot relay, a piston divided into two cup shaped sections, two valves connecting said sections, means for closing one of saidvalves and for thereafter elevating said piston at -a speed determined by the other of said valves, and means for vari-.

ably adjusting said last valve to obtain the action desired.

8. In a dashpot, a closed cylinder, a piston mounted therein having a valve seat, a shaft carrying an element for closing said valve, said piston normally engaging the base of said cylinder and holding the valve seat out of engagement with the element, means for raising the shaft to first engage the element in the ,valve seat to close the valveand to then carry the piston to the returning to normal having means for engaging the cylinder to also move it to normal. y

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 13th day of August, A, D., 1923.

HERMAN H. HARBECKE.

upper end of the cylinder, said shaftwhen V 

